socialnetworking.procon.orgSocial Networking - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org

Social Networking - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org Skip to content More Issues About Us FAQs Teachers’ Corner $0.99 /Month Join Social Networking Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society? Last updated on: 8/17/2018 | Author: ProCon.org Around seven out of ten Americans (72%) use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, up from 26% in 2008. [ 26 ] [ 189 ] . On social media sites, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, and more. Proponents of social networking sites say that the online communities promote increased interaction with friends and family; offer teachers, librarians, and students valuable access to educational support and materials; facilitate social and political change; and disseminate useful information rapidly. Opponents of social networking say that the sites prevent face-to-face communication; waste time on frivolous activity; alter children’s brains and behavior making them more prone to ADHD; expose users to predators like pedophiles and burglars; and spread false and potentially dangerous information. Read more background… Pro & Con Arguments Pro 1 Social media spreads information faster than any other media. 78.5% of traditional media reporters polled used social media to check for breaking news. [ 190 ] 59% of Twitter users and 31% of Facebook users polled followed breaking news on these sites. [ 191 ] Social media sites are one of the top news sources for 46% of Americans, compared to 66% for television, 26% for printed newspapers, and 23% for radio. [ 192 ] Social media users have been responsible for reporting events before traditional media outlets, including the Paris attacks in France on Nov. 13, 2015 (Twitter, Facebook, and Vine), [ 193 ] the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria and Sierra Leone in July 2014 (Twitter), [ 194 ] the Boston marathon bombing on Apr. 15, 2013 (Twitter), [ 195 ] and the Aurora, CO, theater shooting on July 20, 2012 (Twitter and YouTube). [ 3 ] President Donald Trump said that the immediacy that Twitter affords him is the reason why he tweets, noting that press conferences and press releases take too long to reach the public. [ 271 ] Read More Pro 2 Law enforcement uses social media to catch and prosecute criminals. 73% of federal, state, and local law enforcement professionals surveyed think "social media helps solve crimes more quickly." [ 196 ] A survey by the International Association of Chiefs of Police found that 85% of police departments use social media to solve crimes. [ 199 ] The New York Police Department was one of the first forces to add a Twitter tracking unit and use social networking to arrest criminals who have bragged of their crimes online. [ 6 ] Social media sites have helped in the prosecution and conviction of a number of crimes, including: a professional soccer player charged with inappropriate activity with a minor in the UK in 2016, [ 197 ] a gang charged with the beating of a gay couple in Philadelphia, PA, in 2014, [ 198 ] and rioting hockey fans in Vancouver (Canada) in 2011. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Read More Pro 3 Social media sites help students do better at school. 59% of students with access to the Internet report that they use social media to discuss educational topics and 50% use the sites to talk about school assignments. [ 9 ] After George Middle School in Portland, Oregon, introduced a social media program to engage students, grades went up by 50%, chronic absenteeism went down by 33%, and 20% of students school-wide voluntarily completed extra-credit assignments. [ 10 ] [ 11 ] A Jan. 2015 study published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology said college freshman should use social networking sites to build networks of new friends, feel socially integrated at their new schools, and reduce their risk of dropping out. [ 182 ] Read More Pro 4 Social media allows people to improve their relationships and make new friends. 93% of adults on Facebook use it to connect with family members, 91% use it to connect with current friends, and 87% use it to connect with friends from the past. [ 274 ] 72% of all teens connect with friends via social media. [ 200 ] 81% of teens age 13 to 17 reported that social media makes them feel more connected to the people in their lives, and 68% said using it makes them feel supported in tough times. [ 288 ] 57% of teens have made new friends online. [ 200 ] Read More Pro 5 Social media helps empower business women. Being able to connect on social networking sites gives business women a support group not readily found offline, where female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are outnumbered by male CEOs 474 to 26. [ 201 ] Many social media sites are dominated by women: 80% of Pinterest users, [ 202 ] 70% of Snapchat users, [ 204 ] 68% of Instagram users, [ 203 ] 64% of Twitter users, and 58% of Facebook users, are women. [ 205 ] Business women use Twitter chats to support each other, give and receive peer knowledge, and have guest "speakers" share expert knowledge. [ 17 ] One.org helps African women entrepreneurs connect on social media to grow their businesses. [ 18 ] Read More Pro 6 Social media sites help employers find employees and job-seekers find work. 96% of recruiters use social media in the recruiting process; 87% use LinkedIn, 55% use Facebook, and 47% use Twitter. [ 206 ] 48% of job-seekers credit social media for helping find their current job. [ 207 ] 67% of job-seekers use Facebook for the job search, 45% use Twitter, and 40% use LinkedIn. [ 208 ] 69% of students use social media when finding internships. [ 209 ] Read More Pro 7 Being a part of a social media site can increase a person’s quality of life and reduce the risk of health problems. Social media can help improve life satisfaction, stroke recovery, memory retention, and overall well-being by providing users with a large social group. Additionally, friends on social media can have a "contagion" effect, promoting and helping with exercise, dieting, and smoking cessation goals. [ 22 ] Read More Pro 8 Social media facilitates face-to-face interaction. People use social media to network at in-person events and get to know people before personal, business, and other meetings. [ 23 ] Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project found that messaging on social media leads to face-to-face interactions when plans are made via the sites and social media users messaged close friends an average of 39 days each year while seeing close friends in person 210 days each year. [ 24 ] Read More Pro 9 Social media increases voter participation. Facebook users reported they are more likely to vote if they see on social media sites that their friends voted. [ 25 ] Amongst students who are somewhat, not sure, or unlikely to vote, 35% stated that social media was most likely to influence them to vote in the 2016 presidential election; this was higher than all other mediums including television (30%), radio (14%), print (9%), and direct mail (6%) or email (5%). [ 210 ] During the 2012 presidential election, 22% of registered voters posted about how they voted on Facebook or Twitter, 30% were encouraged to vote by posts on social media, and 20% encouraged others to vote via social networking sites. [ 27 ] Read More Pro 10 Social media facilitates political change. Social media gives social movements a quick, no-cost method to organize, disseminate information, and mobilize people. [ 28 ] Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, used social media to mobilize a gun control movement following a deadly shooting at their school. The student activists used Twitter to promote nationwide protests on Mar. 24, 2018 that drew over one million participants and registered thousands of new voters. [ 280 ] [ 281 ] [ 282 ] [ 283 ] The 2011 Egyptian uprising (part of the Arab Spring), organized largely via social media, motivated ...